Karnataka polls: Siddaramaiah 'welcomes' Yogi Adityanath to Bengaluru, asks him to pick up 'tips' to control starvation deaths in UP

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath's address to a rally in Bengaluru on Sunday, ahead of the Karnataka Assembly polls this year, drew sharp criticism from Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, who advised the visiting BJP leader to pick up "tips" during his stay to control starvation deaths in his home state.

I welcome UP CM Shri @myogiadityanath to our state. There is a lot you can learn from us Sir. When you are here please visit a Indira Canteen & a ration shop. It will help you address the starvation deaths sometimes reported from your state. #YogiInBengaluruhttps://t.co/lj0m4fMphC

In his speech, Adityanath claimed that Karnataka has been pushed five years back due to the Congress government's anti-development policies. "The party has become a burden...a problem for the nation. Because of corruption, its divisive politics and its anti-development policies, Karnataka has been pushed five years back. The corrupt Congress is using Karnataka as its ATM," he claimed at the public rally in Vijayanagar area.

According to NDTV, Siddaramaiah said, "We're solving historical challenges in HDI (human development index) with a robust welfare program, and India's most effective industrial policies," referring to what he called the "Karnataka Model of Governance". Responding to Siddaramaiah's 'welcome' tweet, Adityanath hit back at the Karnataka chief minister, raising the issue of farmer suicides and death of "honest officers". "As UP CM I am working to undo the misery and lawlessness unleashed by your allies," Adityanath tweeted. He hit out at Siddaramaiah for the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state, claiming that in five years 22 people affiliated to the RSS or the Sangh Parivar were killed.

Thank you for the welcome @siddaramaiah ji. I heard number of farmers committing suicide in Karnataka was highest in your regime, not to mention the numerous deaths and transfer of honest officers. As UP CM I am working to undo the misery and lawlessness unleashed by your allies. — Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) January 7, 2018

File image of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. PTI

Adityanath, who was visiting the state for the second time after the launch of BJP’s 75-day Parivartan Yatra on 2 November, has become the face of the party’s election campaigning after its successful run at the recent Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections.

In his speech on Sunday, he alleged that as the Assembly elections, due early this year, neared, the Congress had resorted to dividing society on the lines of caste.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also took a jibe at his Karnataka counterpart, saying Siddaramiah only now recalled his Hindu roots. "Siddaramaiah calls himself a Hindu just as Congress president Rahul Gandhi went to temple after temple during the Gujarat election," he claimed.

However, calling himself a Hindu will not suffice till he continues to endorse eating beef, Adityanath claimed.

With inputs from PTI

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